Danger Street #4: Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Danger Street #4 kicks off with Dingbats discovering that Starman killed their friend, Good Looks. The plot revolving around these kids has been one of the slower-paced aspects of this title, with Tom King allowing the Dingbats to go through their stages of grief in previous issues. King writes these characters very in keeping with the children they are, highlighting their brash attitudes. The Dingbats have been operating in the background, primarily unaware of most of the greater scheme lurking behind the scenes, allowing the narrative to flow in several different directions at once, filling these decompressed issues with tons of content to absorb. Ending this issue with the Dingbats locating Starman not only sets up the plot of Danger Street #5 but also shifts the focus, reminding readers that all the characters here are equally important.

The Lady Cop plot is the one that slowly takes over the heart of the narrative. Lady Cop is one step ahead of the Dingbats, gearing up to take on Starman. The subtext of her narrative revolves around her vehement distrust of superheroes, shining a light on a potential theme that this entire series may be revolving around. Superheroes operating freely worldwide can lead to severe unintended casualties, such as Good Looks’ death in Danger Street #1. Starman, Warlord, and Metamorpho were more concerned with joining the Justice League than about their actions’ consequences. The irony is that Lady Cop, a police officer, is heading this overarching theme. The abuse of power amongst police officers has been a hot topic in the United States, so it is interesting to see King’s take on this. Lady Cop refers to her origin story a bit, revealing that she decided to become a  police officer after she was the victim of an incident in which Superman did not show up when she tried to call for his help. Lady Cop became a police officer to use a position of power for good. This flips the usual narrative while poignantly addressing the concern at hand.

Both narratives tie into the theme of those in power abusing it for personal gain and how that affects everyone. This connects directly into the plot thread with Starman and Warlord, who have decided to use the helmet of Doctor Fate to attempt to resurrect Good Looks. This again leads to unintended consequences when the New God, Orion, shows up. The third plot line that touches on this is The Green Team/Jack Ryder story. Jack Ryder is slowly learning that The Green Team’s villainization of “The Outsiders” may be a hoax. This is another example of an individual or group using their power to push an alternative goal. King wants to talk about the actions of those in power, using several perspectives to remind us that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Jorge Fornes’s art continues to blend classic comic book art styles with a touch of modern, encapsulating the book’s aesthetic. This helps give the book its vintage feel while grounding its fantastical elements. This is nicely blended with Clayton Cowels’ letters as they work to ground this narrative within a desert town. This duo also makes the outer space scenes feel vibrant and alive, with Fornes’s otherworldly art pairing well with Cowels’ onomatopoeia to make these pages fun and inventive.

The art in this issue works well on every conceivable level, providing levity and intensity at all the correct times. Dave Stewart’s colors are subdued in the panels featuring everyday people but pop when anyone other-worldly shows up. For example, the vibrant blue of Starman’s skin helps further differentiate and alienate him from his partner Warlord. Fornes’s pencils still make these two relatively similar, requiring Stewart to convey the alien aesthetic. These two creators work incredibly well together, picking up the pieces of each other’s work in a genuinely symbiotic manner.